‘The Bachelorette’ Pays Tribute To Contestant Eric Hill On Premiere

On April 23, tragedy struck the ‘Bachelorette’ family when contestant Eric Hill passed away at the young age of 32 in a paragliding accident in Utah. On May 19, season 10 premiered and Chris Harrison paid a beautiful tribute to him.

‘Bachelorette’ Pays Tribute To Eric Hill

In the very beginning of the episode, Chris stood in front of the mansion to deliver a beautiful tribute:

Throughout the years many hundreds of men and women have come on this show in search of love, and they’ve all become a part of what we consider part of this family. At this time, we’d like to take a moment to honor one of these men — our friend, Eric Hill. Eric passed away shortly after concluding his filming o this show. In the coming weeks, you’ll see Eric was a vibrant man. Every day he impressed us with his passion and courageous spirit. He will be greatly missed, and we dedicate this season, to him.

Andi Was ‘Devastated’ When Hearing About Eric’s Death

When Andi heard the news, she felt, “shock, devastation, grief. It’s something you never could have predicted [or] expected,” Andi told People.

He “was part of our family, and I had just seen him. He was a member of our cast and we had an inherent bond. The [other contestants] shared that bond too. It was shocking and devastating to all of us and it’s still a tough thing that we’re going through.”

She went on to add that his “love for life” was his greatest quality — which is no surprise. He was on a mission to travel to every country in the world within 1,200 days on “The Global Odyssey.”